Hats Off!

One of the many difficulties with dressing Maggie is finding things that will work with her wheelchair. I've mentioned before the difficulty of wearing skirts because of the wheelchair straps at her hips which come up through the legs. It is just not acceptable for a girl to sit like that with a skirt on, even if you didn't go to Catholic school.

Another problem is the headrest on the chair. It is a complicated two part system that does a great job keeping her head in the right position, but wreaks havoc with any hat she might want to wear.  Brims are OUT. The hat gets knocked forward or completely off her head. Baseball hats work for a few minutes, but Maggie's constant movement and rubbing against the headrest makes the hat slowly knock down over her eyes. It's a problem when it's cold or particularly sunny (not a problem this summer). We can't keep her head warm or shade her face from the sun. 

Lately, though., Maggie has found success from a varied collection of hats. They may not be completely practical, but they have been entertaining. 

The easiest fix for the cold, of course is hooded sweatshirts. The hood stays on and keeps her warm. Of course Maggie discovered the string for the hood and has a great time wearing it like this.

 It is a little dangerous when we're driving and she can't get out of it, though.

Undeterred, however, Maggie recently acquired other head wear that stays on her head and she can't get herself into danger wearing either. In fact, she looks quite frightening in both - except for the HUGE smile she's wearing.

This hat was only a loaner. She wore it for a few minutes at the giants game the other Day. I believe this was a giveaway at a giants game earlier in the season. We posted this on facebook and my cousin Dennis said Maggie has to attend all the games and wear this hat because she brings them luck. He may be right. They haven't won since the day she wore it. 

But the best hat of all may be this gift from Nathan T. Nate is the son of some friends and recently traveled to Ireland with an organized group of kids around his age. (14?) He purchased this lovely pink viking hat that says "Ireland" across the front. Maggie is quite the imposing looking marauder, don't you think? When she's wearing this we should really use the full Irish name, Mary Margaret McDonald.

Thanks Nate, Now we can keep her warm, safe, and a little scary. That's perfect. 10th grade is tough. Even for a sweet little Irish lass.